The application claims priority to German Application No. 10 2004 018 461.5, which was filed on Apr. 16, 2004.
The invention relates to a sliding roof system comprising at least one guide rail, a carriage shiftable in the guide rail, and a cover support adapted for attachment to a cover and coupled with the carriage.
Sliding roof systems for vehicles are generally known. These sliding roof systems are capable of shifting at least one cover (made from sheet metal, plastics or glass, for instance) between a closed position and an open position. In the closed position, an opening in a vehicle roof will be closed. When the cover is in the open position, the opening will be at least partially exposed.
All sliding roof systems in which the cover is shifted outwardly, such that the cover lies on an outer surface of the vehicle roof in the open position, share a common feature regarding travel and height. It is desirable to provide as much outward travel as possible in combination with an overall height of the sliding roof system that is as small as possible. With a multitude of systems, the travel is directly provided by slotted pieces that are attached to a guide rail or a carriage. In this configuration, the travel is smaller than the height of the guide rail. In order to obtain a particularly large travel, the guide rail has to be constructed to have an increased height, which in turn results in a reduced headroom in an interior of the vehicle. Constructions are also known in which a lifting motion, which is predefined by a slotted piece, is translated by means of levers into a larger travel of the cover. These systems, however, are relatively complicated.
It is the objective of the present invention to provide a sliding roof system of the type initially mentioned, in which a particularly large travel can be achieved with low effort.